McLaren said that the production version of their new hybrid hypercar, the P1, will look almost identical as the concept version unveiled over at Paris. While we have seen a lot of concept cars being toned down to a tame and restricted form when reaching the production lines, McLaren on the other hand kept their word.
Due to be making an appearance on next week’s Geneva Motor Show, McLaren had just released the P1’s full specifications from head to toe. The performance, price, pictures, you name it. So let us have a look on what is the big hype on this hybrid tower of power is all about.
Starting off with the performance figures, the P1 gets its amazing combined output of 916-horsepower (903bhp) and a maximum torque of 900Nm from both a mid-mounted 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine and an electric motor. 737-horsepower comes from the petrol engine alone, while the remaining 179-horsepower is provided by the electric motor. All the power is sent to the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.
With such a sky-high output, the P1 is a properly fast car; especially on the straights. The car launches from a standstill to 100km/h in less than 3 seconds, climbing to 200km/h under 7 seconds, and could reach 300km/h in no more than 17 seconds. This blistering acceleration is partly thanks to the Instant Power Assist System (IPAS) which is basically KERS for road cars. To give you the idea how fast this car is, the P1 could hit 300km/h 11 seconds faster than the almighty F1. Top speed anyhow is electronically limited to 350km/h.
While we reported earlier that there might only be 500 P1s in existence, the actual number is cut down to only 375 units worldwide, with each of them bearing a hefty £866,000 (RM 4 million) price tag. The P1 comes with a comprehensive specification list as standard and the only options that the customers are able to spec are through the McLaren Special Operations, and for luggage space.
The P1 rides on Pirelli P Zero Corsas developed specifically for it, and hiding behind these special rubbers are their revolutionary ceramic brakes. Designed by McLaren’s F1 partner Akebono, the ceramic brakes surprisingly features a mirrored finish but are more fade resistant and dissipates heat better than any existing brake designs.
Seems like everything on the P1 looks and sounds outstanding, aside from bearing a simpler name than the MP4-12C ‘fax machine’. But will it be able to rise up to the level like the F1 once did back in the 90’s? Labeled as the F1’s successor, the P1 has a lot to do to prove its worth, especially when we have a lot of new contenders coming up in the next few years like Ferrari’s new Enzo’s successor or Porsche’s 918.
